85 Sky Tower, formerly known as the T & C Tower or Tuntex Sky Tower (), is an 85-story

skyscraper A skyscraper is a tall continuously habitable building having multiple floors. Modern sources currently define skyscrapers as being at least or in height, though there is no universally accepted definition. Skyscrapers are very tall high-ri ...

Lingya District Lingya District () is a district of Kaohsiung, Taiwan. The 85 Sky Tower and the Kaohsiung City Hall are located here. Lingya District is the administrative center of Kaohsiung City along with Fongshan District. Its population is around 162 ...

Kaohsiung Kaohsiung City ( Mandarin Chinese: ; Wade–Giles: ''Kao¹-hsiung²;'' Pinyin: ''Gāoxióng'') is a special municipality located in southern Taiwan. It ranges from the coastal urban center to the rural Yushan Range with an area of . Ka ...

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the no ...

. The structure is

high High may refer to: Science and technology * Height * High (atmospheric), a high-pressure area * High (computability), a quality of a Turing degree, in computability theory * High (tectonics), in geology an area where relative tectonic uplift t ...

. An antenna increases the pinnacle height to . Constructed from 1994 to 1997, it is the tallest skyscraper in Kaohsiung, and was the tallest in Taiwan until the completion of

Taipei 101 Taipei 101 (; stylized as TAIPEI 101), formerly known as the Taipei World Financial Center, is a supertall skyscraper in Taipei, Taiwan. This building was officially classified as the world's tallest from its opening in 2004 until the 2009 ...

in 2004. There is no 44th floor in the building (see

Tetraphobia Tetraphobia () is the practice of avoiding instances of the digit . It is a superstition most common in East Asian nations. __TOC__ Rationale The Chinese word for "four" (, pinyin: sì, jyutping: sei3), sounds quite similar to the word fo ...

); the 43rd floor connects directly to the 45th floor. The

pyramid A pyramid (from el, πυραμίς ') is a structure whose outer surfaces are triangular and converge to a single step at the top, making the shape roughly a pyramid in the geometric sense. The base of a pyramid can be trilateral, quadrilate ...

shaped crown is the equivalent of three stories high and is hence marketed as 83–85 to arrive at a round number. There is no elevator access to floors above 80. The building was designed by C.Y. Lee & Partners and Hellmuth, Obata & Kassabaum, and has an unusual 'prong' design with two separate 39-floor sections, which merge into a single central tower rising to a spire. This unique design leaves a substantial space below the central part of the tower. The design was inspired by the first

Chinese character Chinese characters () are logograms developed for the writing of Chinese. In addition, they have been adapted to write other East Asian languages, and remain a key component of the Japanese writing system where they are known as ''kanji' ...

of the city's name. John W. Milton was Project Director on behalf of Turner International Inc. (New York), a subsidiary of Turner Construction. The building was owned by the now defunct Tuntex Group, and is mainly offices, but includes residential space, and a department store; and the 85 Sky Tower Hotel (ceased operations) occupies the 38th to 70th floors. An observation deck on the 74th floor offers views over Kaohsiung City, the Love River and Kaohsiung Harbor; it is accessed by high speed

elevator An elevator or lift is a cable-assisted, hydraulic cylinder-assisted, or roller-track assisted machine that vertically transports people or freight between floors, levels, or decks of a building, vessel, or other structure. They ...

s that are capable of speeds of 10.17 m/s.

Occupancy

Floor 34 and 35 are currently leased by Look Hotel Group (). The 85 Sky Tower Hotel (ceased operations) () occupies floors 37 to 85, and it owns the observation deck. Office space and studio apartments occupy each side of the lower floors.

Atrium

There is an Atrium that extends from Level 45's Shimmer Ballroom (as of 2015 the entire floor is dark and unoccupied) to Level 83; it is one of the highest continuous atriums in the world.

Gallery

File:Kaohsiung Skyline 2020.jpg, 85 Sky Tower viewed at night. File:Asian Pacific Finacial Plaza and Tuntex Sky Tower 20130723.jpg, 85 Sky Tower dominating

's skyline. File:Tuntex Sky Tower night.JPG, 85 Sky Tower illuminated at night File:Kaohsiung Tuntex Sky Tower Blick von der Aussichtsplattform 19.jpg, View of Kaohsiung's streets from 85 Sky Tower's observation deck File:85大樓.JPG, 85 Sky Tower viewed from below File:Kaohsiung Tuntex Sky Tower 21.jpg, 85 Sky Tower viewed from below File:Kaohsiung Tuntex Sky Tower Innen Aussichtsplattform.jpg, 85 Sky Tower Observation Deck File:Kaohsiung sunset.jpg, 85 Sky Tower at sunset

Floor Directory

*80-85: Mechanical / Communication Facility *76-79: Restaurants / Spa (Private Club) (ceased operations) *74-75: Observatory (ceased operations) *46-70: Guest Rooms (ceased operations) *43-45: Meeting Rooms and Ballrooms (no 44th floor) (ceased operations) *38-42: Hotel Facilities (ceased operations) *13-35: Office Residential *12: Nikko Plaza *8-11: Chien-Tai Indoor Amusement Park *2-7: Chien-Tai Daimaru Department Store *1: Lobby

Transportation

The building is accessible within five blocks walking distance west of Sanduo Shopping District Station of the

Kaohsiung MRT Kaohsiung Metro () is a rapid transit and light rail system covering the metropolitan area of Kaohsiung, Taiwan. Its rapid transit network is known as Kaohsiung Mass Rapid Transit or Kaohsiung MRT. Construction of the MRT started in October 200 ...

References

External links

Tuntex Sky Tower
on

CTBUH The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) is an international body in the field of tall buildings and sustainable urban design. A non-profit organization based at the Monroe Building in the city of Chicago, Illinois, United States ...

Skyscraper Center
Emporis
* * {{Skyscrapers in Taiwan 1997 establishments in Taiwan Buildings and structures completed in 1997 Lingya District Residential skyscrapers in Taiwan Skyscraper office buildings in Kaohsiung Skyscraper hotels in Kaohsiung Office buildings completed in 1997